Feral Woman is a publication by Olivia Barbulescu.
I tell stories about loneliness, dating, friendship, and internet culture.
“Olivia Barbulescu is a writer and comedian based in New York City, moving between sharp-witted observation and quiet emotional honesty with an ease that feels entirely her own.” (People’s Archive)
About me
I ice skated competitively for 10 years, studied Mathematical & Computational Science at Stanford University, then worked a bunch of soul-crushing tech jobs. I was then let go fired from the last one and escorted out by security. Sitting on a stoop with a box of my things (I know, so movie so cliche but it did actually happen) I decided, “what if I spend the next 10 years doing what I love?” and somewhere along that twisted path, Feral Woman was born. I now do stand up and write full time.
I publish on Fridays, twice a month. One is a free flagship essay for everyone, and the second is more personal & feral for paid subscribers. Every essay has a self-read audio version, so you can hear the way I intended it to be read (with lots of vocal inflection, scarcasm, & oompf).
What readers are saying
“As a teenage boy trying to navigate an increasingly polarised world — thank you for giving us a more nuanced and balanced perspective.”
“I genuinely gasped at the light-bulb moment you gave me.”
“Thanks for making me feel less alone in how awful ‘finding my person’ has been going.”
Where to start
My most read piece, about evolving gender roles in modern dating: Men aren’t needed anymore, and they’re struggling to adapt to being wanted
You don’t need to know where you’re going. It’s enough to know something’s wrong, about my escape from corporate and embrace of the creative unknown
I didn’t believe in myself and it hurt the people I love, about how believing in yourself is both a responsibility to yourself and to the people who love you
Are your friends negging you?, on how success is a revealing mechanism for who is actually rooting for you
Dating Intentionally, on how “dating for marriage” isn’t the only way to date with purpose
Occasionally I run live events, book clubs, and do video-versions of my essays.
The best way to support my work is to engage with it— comment, email, send me your anecdotes, print it out and send it to your grandpa. The second best is subscribing for $7/month (or $70/year), which makes all this possible:
Thank you for being here,
Olivia
All content © 2026 Olivia Barbulescu. Unauthorized use or reproduction without express written consent is strictly prohibited. For licensing or permissions, please contact: hello@oliviabarbulescu.com.
